The Progressive Democrat Newsletter grew out of the frustration of the 2004 election. Originally intended for New York City progressives, its readership is now national. For anyone who wants to be alerted by email whenever this newsletter is updated (usually weekly), please send your email address and let me know what state you live in (so I can keep track of my readership).

Friday, February 25, 2011

Illinois Focus: Republican Assault on the Middle Class

Make no mistake- union workers are the backbone of the middle class, and by stripping away the basic right of unions to negotiate, Wisconsin's Republican legislators are threatening the livelihood of the middle class.

Whether public or private, union workers have legitimately bargained for wages on which families can live on, reasonable working days and working conditions, health insurance, retirement benefits, and so on. The success of union workers in negotiating for these items over the decades has made them, until recently, the norm in our country. Although some might say that public employees enjoy pay and benefits which exceed that of private sector employees, this would just demonstrate that private sector unions should be strengthened. The stronger unions are, the stronger our middle class is.

Republicans in Wisconsin are now trying to break down this bulwork of the middle class by stripping the state's unions of the basic right to negotiate for the conditions of their employment. This assault on Wisconsin's union workers is no less than an assault on the middle class. Although Wisconsin's Republican govenor claims that the state cannot afford the pension and health benefits the state previously agreed to, this assault comes just a matter of days after he pushed through over a hundred million dollars in tax cuts. Such actions demonstrate that Wisconsin's Republican govenor is not seriously trying to address any budget deficit, but rather he is simply attacking those he perceives as his political enemies.

You might wonder why Republicans in Wisconsin, and other places around the country, percieve defenders of the middle class as their political enemies. Do they not believe that these workers are working hard enough, or sacrificing enough already? Does they not want to ensure that workers earn enough pay to live on? Or are they beholden to some other, more important class of people in this country? I guess you'll have to ask them.

Well put! Republicans seem to only favor the very rich and attack America's working and middle class almost every chance they get.